Microstructural manipulation of electrospun scaffolds for specific bending stiffness for heart valve tissue engineering

Biodegradable thermoplastic elastomers are attractive for application in cardiovascular tissue construct development due to their amenability to a wide range of physical property tuning. For heart valve leaflets, while low flexural stiffness is a key design feature, control of this parameter has been largely neglected in the scaffold literature where electrospinning is being utilized. This study evaluated the effect of processing variables and secondary fiber populations on the microstructure, tensile and bending mechanics of electrospun biodegradable polyurethane scaffolds for heart valve tissue engineering. Scaffolds were fabricated from poly(ester urethane) urea (PEUU) and the deposition…